With the arrival of Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt, Grinding Gear Games has expanded the Ascendancy system by introducing five entirely new Ascendancies. Each is deeply tied to a specific class and offers radically different mechanics, themes, and build synergies. From ritual sacrifice and elemental mastery to battlefield tactics and soul manipulation, these new options allow for even greater depth and diversity in character customization. Below, we explore each Ascendancy by category, breaking down what they offer and how they reshape gameplay in the current meta.
Ascendancy Name | Ritualist |
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Base Class | Huntress |
Description | A dark spiritualist who uses forbidden Azmerian rituals involving blood, beasts, and sacrifice to empower herself. |
Key Mechanics | Utilizes blood magic, plague effects, corpse consumption, and lifeforce corruption. |
Signature Skills | Corrupted Lifeforce (blood boils that spread on death), Ritual Sacrifice (absorb rare corpse modifiers), Mystic Attunement (equip an extra ring with bonus jewelry effects). |
Build Synergy | Ideal for plague, bleed, chaos damage, and corpse-interaction builds. Excellent at area clearing with status spread. |
Lore Theme | Taps into Azmerian tribal spirituality, ancient blood rites, and forbidden sacrificial rituals. |
Ascendancy Name | Amazon |
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Base Class | Huntress |
Description | An elite spear-wielding warrior who combines precise melee attacks with elemental energy and battlefield awareness. |
Key Mechanics | Weak point targeting, elemental synergy, critical strike scaling, and enhanced flask utility. |
Signature Skills | Predatory Instinct (highlight enemy weak points), Critical Strike (accuracy converts to crit chance), Azmeri Brew (flasks restore both life and mana). |
Build Synergy | Perfect for crit-based spear builds using cold, fire, or lightning damage. Fast-paced combat with built-in sustain. |
Lore Theme | Guardian of Azmerian culture, focused on combat mastery, elemental rituals, and discipline. |
Ascendancy Name | Smith of Kitava |
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Base Class | Warrior |
Description | A battlefield forgemaster who creates destruction through fire, steel, and the blessings of Kitava. |
Key Mechanics | Summons anvils, weapon phantoms, and uses normal armor enhanced by ascendancy passives. |
Signature Skills | Smith’s Masterwork (restricts armor to normal, grants custom passives), Weapon Clone summon, Padded Plates (+75% cold resistance). |
Build Synergy | Best with heavy melee, fire-infused, or high-resistance physical builds. Strong synergy with tanky or damage-over-time setups. |
Lore Theme | Worship of Kitava, forging power through pain, battlefield smithing. Destruction is both art and devotion. |
Many of the new Ascendancy skills and mechanics introduced in Dawn of the Hunt also influence how players interact with the game's economy, particularly in how they generate and use PoE 2 Currency. For example, the Ritualist's corpse-based modifiers and the Smith of Kitava's armor enhancements can create powerful gear that fetches high value in trade. Additionally, chaos-focused builds like the Lich often rely on specific currency types for optimal crafting and curse stacking, making ascendancy choice a critical factor in currency farming strategies.
Ascendancy Name | Tactician |
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Base Class | Mercenary |
Description | A military strategist who commands the battlefield with suppression, banners, and ranged reinforcements. |
Key Mechanics | Pinning enemies, controlling enemy actions, buffing allies, summoning off-screen archers. |
Signature Skills | Suppressing Fire (pins enemies), Right Where We Want Them (pinned enemies can't act), Watch How I Do It (share weapon damage with allies). |
Build Synergy | Strong in solo and party play. Pairs with projectile builds, banner stacking, and crowd control strategies. |
Lore Theme | Former Blackguard elite, leading through tactics, precision, and overwhelming force. |
Ascendancy Name | Lich |
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Base Class | Witch |
Description | A master of undeath and chaos who manipulates souls, curses, and corrupted energy to devastating effect. |
Key Mechanics | Dual curses, chaos explosions, Phylactery (a jewel socket with double effect), energy shield conversion. |
Signature Skills | Dominion over Flesh (extra curse), Cursed Detonation (chaos explosions on death), Phylactery Socket (+100% jewel effect). |
Build Synergy | Ideal for chaos DoT builds, energy shield hybrids, curse layering, and risky high-reward spellcasting. |
Lore Theme | Death, decay, forbidden necromancy. Consumes her own essence to dominate the battlefield. |
The five new Ascendancies in Dawn of the Hunt add significant complexity and flavor to the world of Wraeclast. Whether you’re drawn to the thematic power of the Ritualist, the battlefield dominance of the Tactician, or the volatile chaos of the Lich, there’s something here to challenge and reward every type of player. These Ascendancies not only introduce fresh mechanics but also enrich the lore and identity of each class, giving players more tools than ever to forge unique, powerful builds in Path of Exile 2.